| Motor vehicle theft plagues all parts of the world and | | | | 2007 the National Highway Traffic Safety |
| despite many efforts to curtail it, it still remains quite a | | | | Administration (NHTSA) conferred a five-star safety |
| pain for both the victims sometimes as well as law | | | | rating for frontal crashes for both driver and |
| enforcement agencies. However many countries | | | | passenger to the car (whether a thief or not!). You |
| show a declining trend in motor vehicle thefts. Further, | | | | might want to take a peek into an innovation in air bag |
| the thieves seem to have a greater affinity for some | | | | safety that recently came about. |
| automobiles. | | | | #3: Honda Accord: The car made its debut in the year |
| Often referred to as grand theft auto by police | | | | 1976 as a compact hatchback and later grew up in to |
| departments, the act of stealing motor vehicles has | | | | an intermediate vehicle. Now 8 generations old, the |
| many motivations. And range from chopping and selling | | | | vehicle has received several awards such as the |
| automotive parts to resale of vehicles and even for | | | | Consumer Search's Best Family Car, Motor Trend's |
| joyriding. In the year 2003 there were 1,261,226 cases | | | | Import Car of the Year, Car of the Year Japan, etc. |
| of auto thefts in the U.S. which further decreased to | | | | The car has also been featuring at the European |
| 1,237,114 in 2004 showing a decline of 1.91%. The | | | | Touring Car scene since 1995. Perhaps, it high value |
| following are the thieves’ favorite cars in the USA | | | | plus the “race-ability” is what makes it attractive |
| based on 2004 data. | | | | for a steal and run operation! Off course, they can split |
| #1: Honda Civic: Introduced in July 1972 as a two-door | | | | apart its various automotive accessories and the |
| coupe, the Honda Civic is the second-longest | | | | engine and sell it to make money. |
| continuously running nameplate from a Japanese | | | | #4: The Dodge Caravan: The Dodge Caravan and |
| manufacturer. Now five generations old, it has won | | | | Dodge Grand Caravan are minivans manufactured by |
| quite a few accolades throughout its history. Some of | | | | Chrysler. The sister models of the product were the |
| them include Road Test magazine’s 1974 Car of | | | | Chrysler Town and Country, and the Plymouth |
| the Year; Motor Trend's Import Car of the Year; Car | | | | Voyager that later became the Chrysler Voyager. |
| and Driver magazine's annual Ten Best; North | | | | Being produced since the year 1984, the automobile is |
| American Car of the Year and the North American | | | | now in its fifth generation. |
| International Auto Show (NAIAS) Car of the Year. | | | | #5: Chevrolet Full Size C/K 1500 Pickup:This full-size |
| #2: Toyota Camry: Now over 6 generations old the | | | | pickup truck line from Chevrolet continued production |
| Toyota Camry is a mid-size car assembled by | | | | from 1960 until 1998. The light-duty pickup truck was |
| Toyota. Launched in the year 1980 it’s | | | | replaced with the GMC Sierra in 1988 and the |
| manufactured at several places around the world, viz. | | | | Chevrolet Silverado in 1999. |
| Tsutsumi, Japan; Georgetown, Kentucky; Altona, | | | | For more insight into thieves' favorite cars, and |
| Victoria, Australia and Guangzhou, China. In the year | | | | automobile theft, kindly visit my blog. |